(sólo en inglés)
Who has never dreamed of flying and seeing life from above!
This was the case of Denis Bolori, an Italian watchmaker who settled in Troyes around 1515.
He was possibly inspired by his compatriot Leonardo da Vinci when he built a flying machine in 1536, with articulated wings.
He launched into the sky from the top of the Cathedral tower and managed to propel himself up for more than one kilometer East!
However, the unfortunate man soon went down until crashing in a meadow in Foissy, near Saint Parres aux Tertres. He will not survive this fall.
He was not often mentioned but this story has been confirmed as being true by the last of his descendants in the 17th century, who had a clothes shop in the current Urbain IV street.
Unlike Icarus, Denis Bolori did not burn his wings, but his wings failed to their mission!
Head and featured photo © Juliette Mosdier-Pierre
